Blues in the Night by Carol Fowler

Blues in the Night: The First Chronicles of Bernie Butz is a five-story series that begins in May 1951. Bernie is a jazz reviewer and a part-time sleuth, since he seems compelled to involve himself in different scenarios involving the jazz musicians that he writes about. He started out as a law school student in New York City, but instead discovered the true love of his life – jazz – and began hanging around 52nd Street, the jazz capital of the world, where he became mesmerized by the music. Bernie has become a man dedicated to the music and the people who make it. Most of his time is spent in smoky dives, where the music is hot and the musicians’ lives are even hotter. The first episode involves an extortion attempt on an up-and-coming saxophone player. The other four stories to follow center on murder and personal tragedies. The final tale is a murder mystery involving a trumpet player whose wife is found dead with the man she has been having an affair with, the horn player’s own drummer. Stay tuned for the next book in the series, Blowin’ Up a Storm: The Second Chronicles of Bernie Butz.